Skysurfing help required, please

[geggster]

I don't think you are daft at all... I struggle with the same things. While I never played the GW version (it sounds good on the whole) I don't have much d20 experience and it is difficult to get to grips with sometimes.Arabin

Thank goodness for that. Right, this is my first post and I would like some info on Skysurfing.

I have read the Corebook and the Crazes book but am still at a loss as how to properly run a supersurf.

The core rule book says that all citizens’ skills are class skills, but on the citizen sheet at the back, it also says that craze is not a class skill. Do you buy them at cross-class price or regular price?

A level 5 citizen, dex 15, can have 8 craze (skysurfing) ranks and once you’ve added on the Skill focus and the dex mod, he’ll have a craze (skysurfing) modifier of +12. So this means he needs an 8 or more on the D20 for a DC20 pass?

When he then becomes a Supersurf Champion Prestige (and I assume the Champion Feat is automatically taken, rather than waiting for the next overall class feat bonus), do you use the Supersurf Champion Level (which will be one) rather than the character level (which will be 6) to add to the craze (skysurfing check)?


Does this mean that at Citizen 8/Champion 5 (guntz holtz) could conceivably have 16 levels of craze (skysurfing) skill, +2 for skill focus, +4 dex mod, +5 for being a level five champion and therefore a total skill modifier of +27? I must have got that wrong because Guntz has a skill modifier of only 14, but still at least 10 craze ranks.


So assuming a character at one point fails a DC, does he then get to try a power roll to avoid the incident or does the DC assume he is power rolling anyway? Can he try Improved Power Roll (if he has it) instead or as well and does he get to try a reflex save (or again, is that only if he has Avoid Collision feat)? Are there rules for mass pile-ups adding to DCs of following riders? Is a following rider someone who hasn’t passed as many DCs to date?

I have the old Citadel Surfer minis, look forward to buying the Foundry ones too and would like to able to make races visual/more visual.

Sorry if I’m being a pain, or thick, but I haven’t played a D20 game yet and am finding all the info becoming a little confused in my small brain.

Cheers.

 

[Matt Sharp]

The core rule book says that all citizens’ skills are class skills, but on the citizen sheet at the back, it also says that craze is not a class skill. Do you buy them at cross-class price or regular price.

Craze is definately a class skill for citizens.

A level 5 citizen, dex 15, can have 8 craze (skysurfing) ranks and once you’ve added on the Skill focus and the dex mod, he’ll have a craze (skysurfing) modifier of +12. So this means he needs an 8 or more on the D20 for a DC20 pass?

Yep.

When he then becomes a Supersurf Champion Prestige (and I assume the Champion Feat is automatically taken, rather than waiting for the next overall class feat bonus), do you use the Supersurf Champion Level (which will be one) rather than the character level (which will be 6) to add to the craze (skysurfing check)?

'Champion' isn't a feat, it's a class ability gained automatically when the character takes a level in the Supersurf Champion prestige class.

I assume that 'class level' refers to the amount of levels that the character has in the Supersurf Champion prestige class, otherwise it would say character level. (Might be wrong, though...)

Does this mean that at Citizen 8/Champion 5 (guntz holtz) could conceivably have 16 levels of craze (skysurfing) skill, +2 for skill focus, +4 dex mod, +5 for being a level five champion and therefore a total skill modifier of +27? I must have got that wrong because Guntz has a skill modifier of only 14, but still at least 10 craze ranks.

Hmm, I think Marc Farrimond might need to answer that one, if he's about! Although it looks like the Skills in the RG Crazes are the 'basic' skill points distributed without adjustments for class abilities, skills and whatnot. (He'd have a skill modifier of +25, I think - he's not maxed out his Craze skill)

So assuming a character at one point fails a DC, does he then get to try a power roll to avoid the incident or does the DC assume he is power rolling anyway? Can he try Improved Power Roll (if he has it) instead or as well and does he get to try a reflex save (or again, is that only if he has Avoid Collision feat)? Are there rules for mass pile-ups adding to DCs of following riders? Is a following rider someone who hasn’t passed as many DCs to date?

A power roll is a full round action (JD rulebook, p27), so the character couldn't use the ability if he's done anything else that round - the same goes for Improved Power Roll. Avoid Collision seems to be an 'instinctive' action - I'd class it as a free action, but the character needs to be aware of any potential collision before he can use the ability.

Hope that's made things a bit clearer for you!

 

[Dredd Times]

Err thanks Matt for jumping in and answering those questions before I got the chance. As I see it you got everything just the way it should be and as for Power Roll I see it as a free action but of course the character would have to be aware of an obsticle before attempting such a manovure.

I have to admit I was a complete d20 novice when I penned Crazes, but I hope I didnt confuse to many people with my stat lines.

Working on a supersurf adventure right now for S&P if it gets accepted that could help tidy up any loose ends.

Marc

 

[geggster]

Thanks for the help chaps.

Things are much clearer now.

Although can I ask what happens when a DC is failed. The way I see it, the average surfer will need 30-odd DC checks during a race and will obviously fail at least a few (unless he is Chopper of course).

Various feats and skills may help a few avoid collisions but won't most surfers be killed by a failed DC? I'm new to all this, but the damage taken from a crash looks substantial. Is this right?

Looking forward to seeing Marc's S&P article.

 

[hassanisabbah]

Sorry I am still looking for the disk with the course on.

What I did was set the Difficultys for obstructions quite low, and not have too many of them. Then if they failed the roll, allowed an emergency roll (braking) which then penalised them on the speed they could achieve, or deducted from their accumilated race total (to simulate having to go wide, or back round again).

If the emergency brake fails, the next roll was a bail roll (reduced to speed 0 for the next turn) and only failing that did a collision occur.... In total I think there were four chances of a nasty incident if the player cocked up the first roll....

 

[Matt Sharp]

Although can I ask what happens when a DC is failed. The way I see it, the average surfer will need 30-odd DC checks during a race and will obviously fail at least a few (unless he is Chopper of course).

Various feats and skills may help a few avoid collisions but won't most surfers be killed by a failed DC? I'm new to all this, but the damage taken from a crash looks substantial. Is this right?

It depends where the surfer is at the time - if he's in a relatively safe place (admittedly, something of a rarity in a powerboard race!) and falls off, the board immediately cut to 'hover' mode and the character with be left dangling from his billycord (a tether that connects the rider to the board by his ankle).

If he crashes into something, then its probably curtains for the character - this fits in with the comics, where the greatest sky surfers in the world take part in Supersurf 7, 10 and 11, but only a handful are still alive at the end of each race.

It's a dangerous old game...

 

[Arabin]

It sounds like it's better to have a sky surfer campaign of sorts... where each of the players roll up a new sky surfer prior to the event, or perhaps have some adventures around the big meg before the race, but they would need to go into the race knowing that there is a good chance they would not live through it.

Once you get past the fear of your character dying, it can be a lot of fun, and a sky surf needs the tension.

I've not run one yet, but I might do so in the near future. I just need to get some appropriate figures first...

Arabin